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OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE VICE CHANCELLOR
December 7, 2020
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ALL ACADEMICS, STUDENTS, AND STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO (Including UC San Diego Health)
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Wastewater Detection of SARS CoV-2
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UC San Diego has developed a multifaceted, proactive strategy to detect SARS CoV-2 (which causes COVID-19) in our community so that we can reduce transmission of virus on the campus to the greatest extent possible.
UC San Diego has the ability to identify the virus through wastewater sampling and testing. We have expanded our wastewater monitoring program to 52 samplers across campus and will be ramping up to more than 100 samplers in the next few weeks. Currently, many of the samplers each cover multiple buildings; in the future, we aim to have each sampler cover a single building, to the extent possible.
The virus is shed from the gastrointestinal tract and is present in feces early in the infection. We are detecting the virus in the wastewater 3-5 days, on average, before we would detect it via our individual testing program. This enables us to detect positive individuals as early as possible, so they can get care, isolate themselves, and avoid infecting others.
Our experience to date has been that our test is extremely sensitive; a sampler covering several buildings housing a hundred or more people is capable of detecting a single individual shedding virus. This is an important component of our multi-layered strategy that has helped UC San Diego avoid large clusters of infection.
Our early detection system identified active virus in the wastewater outflow of 2 samplers in the Marshall and Sixth College areas from 11am on Thursday, December 3 to 11am on Friday, December 4. The specific buildings associated with this wastewater sampler are listed below:
Sixth College: Catalyst
Non-residential buildings: Thurgood Marshall College Administration Building, Economics Building, Sequoyah Hall
Thousands of people are on the UC San Diego campus every day, including members of the public. This test is an early indication that one or more individuals are shedding the virus; note that viral shedding starts before symptoms develop and is also present in people who never develop symptoms.
Campus cleaning of restroom facilities remains rigorous and consistent.
TAKE ACTION
TESTING
If you used the restroom in one of these buildings in this area from 11am on Thursday, December 3 to 11am on Friday, December 4, out of an abundance of caution, you should get tested promptly.
Campus SARS CoV-2 testing capabilities are now sufficient to offer testing through our asymptomatic screening program so that we will be able to tell you whether you might be shedding virus at this time.
Self-administered testing is available for students at Price Center, Seventh College and Nuevo Fitness Center from 9am to 4pm. Kits containing all materials for testing and instructions are provided. Self-administered testing does NOT require an appointment and testing can be done at a convenient time and location. Completed tests are returned to any of the pick-up locations and placed in the designated drop box.
Additional UC San Diego Heath testing sites are distributed throughout San Diego as well as the Price Center and Athena Circle to enable you to be tested over the next one or two days. Testing at these locations requires an appointment which you can schedule your test through these links:
Students: https://covid19testing.ucsd.edu/Asymptomatic/Student
Campus employees: https://covid19testing.ucsd.edu/Asymptomatic/Campus
SYMPTOM MONITORING
You will need to monitor yourself for symptoms for the next 14 days. In addition to monitoring yourself for symptoms, you should also be particularly meticulous about observing all current guidelines about prevention of COVID-19 transmission when you are around others. This includes avoiding direct physical contact with others, wearing a mask in the presence of others (especially indoors), staying at least 6 feet from others and washing your hands frequently.
You should be particularly careful about these prevention recommendations if you are in the presence of people with risk factors for more serious COVID-19 disease. This includes people over the age of 55 as well as people with underlying medical conditions including heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes or obesity.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES AVAILABLE
In closing, we want to emphasize that we are notifying you of these recommendations because we wish to be exceedingly cautious while we work to better understand the implications of identifying a trace of virus in the wastewater testing. As we noted, we are not certain that anyone on campus is infected, but we do want to offer testing and this information as part of our ongoing efforts to stay ahead of this virus in our community.
Further information is available at the Return to Learn website and on Blink.
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Elizabeth H. Simmons
Executive Vice Chancellor
COVID-19 Response Team, Chair
Alysson M. Satterlund
Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs
COVID-19 Monitoring Team, Chair
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